Two local Greenville developers, Taft Development Group and Ward Holdings, announced the initiation of the prodigious student housing project that will be located near downtown Greenville and the main campus of East Carolina University. The five-story mixed-use facility will feature 275 student apartments containing a total of 675 bedrooms.

Plans project that the complex will open in August 2017—just in time to welcome arriving ECU students for the Fall Semester. Students will have the choice of 16 floorplans with studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom units. Each floor plan will be fully furnished, include private bathrooms and contain upgrades such as granite countertops and plank floors. The housing project will provide a high-tech state-of-the-art security system with cameras, electronic access control and high speed wireless internet.

In addition to the student housing, the tower complex will contain 20,000 square feet of retail space, a 700-car parking deck, courtyards, resort-style pool, outdoor amenity center, state-of-the-art fitness center and a roof-top sky-view terrace. The complex will be located across the street from the recently announced $122 Million ECU Student Union that is scheduled to commence construction Summer 2015. Students also will enjoy the convenience of a short 3 minute walk to the 150,000 square foot Student Recreation Center, Joyner library and the new world-class Student Union.

According to the Pitt County Development Commission, East Carolina University (ECU) and Pitt Community College (PCC) will partner to establish the Biopharmaceutical Work Force Development and Manufacturing Center of Excellence. With funds provided by the Golden LEAF Foundation, this effort will create the East Coast’s finest training center for biomanufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Additional support from the North Carolina Community College System’s NCWorks Customized Training and BioNetwork will enhance the planned facilities and programs.

Unanimously voting to provide the largest such grant this year, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors will provide $1,750,000—to ECU ($1,100,000) and PCC ($650,000). The creation of the Biopharmaceutical Work Force Development and Manufacturing Center of Excellence is a model for economic and work force development collaboration. PCC, ECU, the NC Community College BioNetwork, and Pitt County are partnering to develop an educational and training infrastructure for a 21st century pharmaceutical services workforce to meet the labor and expertise needs of such companies as Patheon, a leading provider of drug substance and drug product services for the global biopharmaceutical industry.

The Golden LEAF Board of Directors had earlier reserved funding for this purpose as part of North Carolina’s efforts to recruit Patheon to expand in Greenville, NC. Governor Pat McCrory announced this expansion of an estimated 488 jobs in October of 2014. Golden LEAF recognizes the economic and workforce development opportunity at hand and shares the vision of a bright pharmaceutical services future for the region, where over 8,000 people are already directly employed in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Companies such as RTI, the manufacturer of a sterile biomedical device, are also growing in Pitt County.

Small but mighty, Greenville, NC has ranked in the top 10 on the fDI Magazine’s list of “American Micro Cities of the Future 2015-16.” Ranking in the top ten overall, Greenville also made the top 3 list in two other categories and has been highly ranked on the magazine’s list since its inception in 2011.

Greenville continues to capture the attention of the fDI Magazine produced by The Financial Times Ltd., one of the world’s leading business news organizations, and is recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, serving as an essential resource for the global business community.

fDI focuses these rankings on a mixture of data and expert opinion to name cities that have the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion. Greenville falls into the Micro Cities category, which includes cities with populations under 100,000. There are also categories for Major Cities with populations up to 750,000, Large Cities with populations between 250,000 and 750,000 and Small Cities with populations between 100,000 and 250,000.

Ranking highest in the Human Capital and Lifestyle category, Greenville, NC made #2 for Micro Cities. Various factors contribute to this category which is based on such things as number of students, labor force as a percentage of the population, literacy rate, secondary and tertiary enrollment rates, the number of physicians as percentage of population, and gross domestic product.

Greenville, NC continues to grow in popularity with businesses and organizations as an attractive choice and a viable relocation target in which to thrive.

The Pitt County Schools Early College High School will open in the fall of 2015 with a promise of providing students with the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and two years of transferable college credit or an Associate's Degree. Located on the campus of Pitt Community College, the PCS Early College will provide a personalized, academically-energized environment at both the high school and college level for students who are first generation college bound and traditionally underrepresented in higher education, particularly in S.T.E.M. fields. PCS Early College will support students through what effectively becomes their first two years of college - typically the most vulnerable period for students from this target population. All for FREE!

Goals

Improve academic outcomes for all students.

Promote local business and industry by developing a workforce well prepared for the state's emerging economy through exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) courses and pathways.

Employ a project-based learning approach that actively engages students through lesson plans characterized by inquiry and collaborative work.

Create a sense of community and family that supports the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs of students.

Highlights

Instructional methods will include project-based as well as problem-based learning, performance-based assignments, and cooperative learning.

Expose students to relevant, real-world scenarios and empower them to make meaningful decisions about their own learning and future goals.

Job-shadowing and internships with local business and industry will strengthen students' understanding of S.T.E.M. career pathways and workforce readiness as it relates to curricular direction at Pitt Community College.

Support through AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) strategies with an emphasis on reinforcing student and organizational skills; seminar/tutorial sessions will be held.

As evidenced by the charts below, the Greenville, North Carolina and Pitt County area single family real estate market is getting better. When comparing single family home sales year to date with last year to date, significant improvement is apparent. The number of closed sales are up 40% and sales volume is up a whopping 49% compared to this time last year. The prices of single family homes showed improvement as well, increasing by 7%. For townhomes and condominiums the news is not as rosy. There were no major changes and that market remains somewhat flat.

For home sellers, the signs shown by the numbers are encouraging. More homes are selling, quite often quicker and for more money. For home buyers, prices are still a bargain and mortgage interest rates remain at historically low levels. The dream of home ownership can be a reality while being as affordable as ever.